Weird Texas: Katrina
by GreatBigFreak
Summary: Continuing crossover in the Weird Texas series. Regular suspects include Undertaker and Hellboy, along with other assorted personalities from both of their worlds. Taker gets into something heavy after Hurricane Katrina.
1. Chapter 1

_Notes: Please read Weird Texas and Weird Texas: Vacation for this to make any sense! _

_Okay okay, I already know full well that Hellboy was 'lost at sea' in his own timeline when Katrina hit... This is AU, all your canon are belong to us. I suppose it could fit in the movie timeline, but the Hellboy I write is a little more introspective than movie version. This Hellboy floats somewhere between the two. So remember that every time I do this, it is with the mind relaxed and attentive to that fact._

_Also, I mean no offense to anybody who was negatively affected by Hurricane Katrina. I sent along half a paycheck for disaster relief, I mean well, and hope that I handled this topic sensitively. If this does offend you, please give me a well thought out argument why and we'll try to sort that out like adults.  
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_Rating: Uh, T and/or PG-13? There will probably be language and mature themes... As is my way._

_Disclaimer: I am poor. All you will get from suing me is some debts and my bad attitude... No copyright infringement intended. Characters you recognize are either property of Mike Mignola or World Wrestling Entertainment._

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><p>Weird Texas: Weird Katrina<p>

Chapter 1

Hellboy wasn't there when the levies broke, and he wasn't sure that his presence would have made any difference. Like the rest of America, he was left in the same kind of removed shock at seeing the force of nature named Katrina unfold. And he, like everyone with people they cared about in New Orleans, was worried. He hadn't spoken to Mark in awhile, but they exchanged the odd letter, as a sort of cosmic joke in the world of email and text messaging. Mark's work continued on as it had since he started, and Hellboy had only reemerged from one long haze of one thing after another. So long in fact, that he only realized as he was watching the news reports of the hurricane that he hadn't actually seen to Mark in a few years.

So the first thing he did was find a phone. A proper phone, the kind that had a cord and you could wallop someone over the head with and they wouldn't be getting up. He'd resented the idea of touchtone over all, no matter how many times Abe showed him that he could play Mary Had A Little Lamb if you pressed the numbers in proper sequence.

He ended up connecting with Jacqueline, Mark's paramour, on a cellphone. He was quite relieved when she calmly took the time to explain that everyone at the estate outside of New Orleans had evacuated, and that had that relief crushed with one word. The word was "But". In that instant he hated the word, because he knew there was a good chance there was a friend he might not see again. He'd heard that word, that hitch in the voice too often in his life and it never got any easier.

"But Mark, the idiot, vanished shortly before we all got into vehicles and left. Perdita is also missing, she wasn't right for days before it happened. She warned us, so we had things ready and got out of there, but when the time came to leave, she'd gone too." Jacqueline said. Her voice strained as she said it.

"Everybody else is okay though? You're okay?" Hellboy asked.

"Yes, we're fine. Mark bought a property in Texas about two years ago. There's plenty of room." She said. "I'm just worried about my loveable idiot. Have you seen the news? It looks like utter catastrophe."

"I have... It doesn't look good." Hellboy said in his usual way of understating things to make them more accessible in his mind. "But with the death toll, I can see why Mark stayed... That many souls around, Jacqueline, he probably couldn't have left even if he wanted to."

"I know... And I would know if he were in serious trouble. Our minds are connected enough that I would know... But it doesn't stop me from worrying about him. Bradshaw is out of his mind about Perdita." She said. Hellboy could tell that she had just sat down from the pacing she was most likely doing.

"He's still sweet on her? He hasn't let it go?" Hellboy had to ask about something normal, trying to banish the images he'd seen on the news from his mind.

"Mark told me that he worked something out for them. I haven't bothered to ask. It's all we can do to keep him from heading back to New Orleans to look for her." Jacqueline said.

"Would he calm down if you told him I was going down there as soon as I can get a plane and a pilot?" Hellboy asked.

"Maybe, but I doubt it... When he's got a purpose, he's hard to convince of anything different." She said.

"It's not a good place for him to be right now. Just do what you can to keep him there. I'll go down, and I'll stay in touch, all right?" Hellboy reassured.

"Okay, thank you." She replied.

Jacqueline wasn't sure at all where Mark was, but assumed that his relationship with the dead had much to do with it. The news channels were crying in the thousands for a death toll, and if Mark himself wasn't dead, that many fresh and confused souls were going to be a major source of distraction.

Hellboy made sure once again that everyone was okay and assured he that he was on the next transport to start searching. Getting that transport was slightly more difficult until he pointed out that Mark had the potential to be incredibly dangerous. Hellboy hadn't wanted to do that, he truly believed Mark to be the moral man he proclaimed and had proven himself to be. But that many people possibly dead, that many souls... And the power that came to Mark with them was worrisome to Hellboy.

Hellboy and a crew managed to get to the closest dry air strip and met with a chopper there. The chopper was outfitted with a raft which he could make the jump down to for the flooded areas. The pilot of the chopper was over-tired and antsy at being called away from his rescue missions. He was a local boy and clearly hadn't heard from somebody he'd wanted to hear from.

Before they had even taken off, Hellboy tried to set the guy at ease. It was something he was well used to doing. He asked the guy's name and his wife and kids names, and what kind of beer he liked best, 'cause Hellboy was gonna buy him a case of it when they were done.

"I'm not exactly sure what we're looking for, but we'll know when we find it. For starters, this is probably going to get weird. I warn you now." Hellboy said.

"I've seen some crazy shit already." The pilot said.

"Well it's gonna get crazier, can you handle that?" Hellboy asked.

"Hope so." He said.

"Good enough for me." Hellboy replied.

The flight was low to the ground, and their spot lights picked up several people on roof tops, waving. Hellboy know the pilot felt terrible, only able to drop a care package with a note that said their location had been radioed in, and then move on. "I hate to do this to you, but we need to get higher." Hellboy said into the headset he wore.

"But if we can get people the supplies they need, more might make it." The pilot said.

"I know and that's important, but I've got a friend out there who could be the end of every soul in the country. This is big, what we're looking for I mean... It's really big. Please, I need you to get higher." Hellboy said with as much compassion as the noise of the chopper allowed. The pilot nodded coldly and sent them higher into the night sky. The sky was overcast, but now eerily calm. Hellboy set his gaze to the horizon, and once they were high enough, it didn't take him long to spot it.

There was a column of light headed from the ground up, as opposed to the ground down lights of search helicopters, and had a distinctly greenish hue. "There." Hellboy said and pointed. "That's what we're after."

"What the hell is that?" The pilot asked.

"I told you things we're going to get weird. This is the start of it. Now, I want you to take me over there, drop me off, take my guys back, and get some damn sleep before you go back to work." Hellboy said.

"And how will you get back?"

"Don't worry about me. I'll call a B.P.R.D chopper in when I'm done. I wanted a local guy to help me find where I needed to go." Hellboy said, and then rose to get ready to jump.

As the approached the green light, Hellboy could make out the figure of a man at the bottom of it, apparently walking on water through the flooded 9th Ward. Hellboy had keen eyesight, but couldn't make out any detail about the man because of the intensity of the light around him.

Displaced bats and birds circled the column of light. Mark, if it was Mark, was headed towards a mostly submerged home, where the roof was barely visible above the water line. The chopper got closer and Hellboy saw the man wave his arm, and the water peel back like the Red Sea and create a stairway down to the house's door.

Before Hellboy ditched his headset, he turned to the pilot one more time. "Take it easy, man, really. I hope you hear from your family soon." Hellboy said and made his move. He pulled the rip cord of the raft and tossed it down to the water. He quickly made sure everything on his belt was secure and sized up the distance to the raft. He took two jogging steps and was falling through the air, angling it so a hoof wouldn't puncture the raft. Hellboy couldn't blame the pilot for wasting no time in departing. He was gone the instant Hellboy gave him the thumbs up.

Hellboy, naturally distrustful of all things mechanical had not requested a Zodiac with an outboard, but a paddle instead. Dipping it into the calming water, what overwhelmed him was the smell. The water was briny with a hint of eau de sewage. Stagnant swamp and most likely infested with all manner of uglies from the microbial to the crocodilian. He already knew he wasn't going to come out of this one dry, but he sure wasn't looking forward to the inevitable sogginess in his future.

He steered the raft towards the column of light. Proximity and lack of air disturbance from the chopper allowed for more detail to be seen. In the light, Hellboy could now make out the ghostly apparitions of people floating what could only be described as heavenward like a one way lava lamp.

Mark, again, if it was indeed Mark, wasn't visible and was still down in the house. Hellboy waited calmly. He wasn't going to rush into this one. There was a time for action and a time for recognizance, and this wasn't the time for action... yet.

The column of light allowed Hellboy to see his surroundings comfortably enough, not that there was much to be seen. He'd been briefed that the water was already starting to receed, but it didn't make much difference at present. He could see the tops of trees and houses, but precious little else, save for flotsam that had once been people's possessions.

He lit a cigarette to pass the time, but didn't have to wait long. Five drags of smoke later, and the disturbance was emerging from the house as the magically dispersed water rushed back in the door.

"Eureka." Hellboy murmured to himself.

Mark, and it definitely was Mark, appeared to be shepherding something precious. His hands were gentle as led the apparition of an old woman up from the house. He then gestured outward and upward. The ghost nodded, smiled, and let go of Mark's hands, and in doing so she became young and fresh faced again. She didn't look back as she started her ascent.

Mark set his eyes on the middle distance already scanning for the next soul in need. Hellboy, always willing to find the simplist solution, called out to his friend as an assessment of just how far gone he was. "Mark! Can I have a minute?"

Almost to Hellboy's surprise, Mark immediately looked his way.

"Evening, Red. What are you doing here?" Mark asked in his usual quiet and polite tone. That gave Hellboy some pause. He was used to those drugged out on any occult derived power to exude crazy. Polite friendliness was nowhere on the list of expected reactions.

"You got people worried about you, Mark. Jacqueline in particular." Hellboy explained.

"The connection between our minds would let her know if I was in real danger... I understand her worry, but I'm all right, really. I have to do this, Red." Mark replied.

"What are you doing? Specifically I mean. If only 'cause they're gonna make me write a report about this." Hellboy tried to keep his tone light and friendly.

"There are a lot of lost souls here, Red. Over a thousand... Well over a thousand. I'm about halfway there, but there are so many others. I've got to help them move on." Mark replied.

"You want some backup?" Hellboy asked.

"It'll be boring." Mark said. "For you, I mean." Mark took the moment to take a deep breath and stick his thumbs into his belt loops. Once again, Hellboy was almost dumbstruck by how normal Mark looked despite standing in the middle of his own strangeness.

"How about I make sure no one tries to mug you?" Hellboy asked and chuckled. He took another drag off his cigarette. Mark returned the chuckle.

"All right, Red. But I warn you, boring."

"I'm prepared to make that sacrifice." Mark came close to Hellboy in the raft and offered his hand.

"Wanna walk or paddle?" Mark asked.

"Walking's fine, but on water?" Hellboy asked.

"I'll avoid making the obvious Jesus joke if you do." Mark offered.

"Agreed." Hellboy said and took Mark's hand.

_To be continued..._


	2. Chapter 2

_Notes: Please read Weird Texas and Weird Texas: Vacation for this to make any sense! _

_Okay okay, I already know full well that Hellboy was 'lost at sea' in his own timeline when Katrina hit... This is AU, all your canon are belong to us. I suppose it could fit in the movie timeline, but the Hellboy I write is a little more introspective than movie version. This Hellboy floats somewhere between the two. So remember that every time I do this, it is with the mind relaxed and attentive to that fact._

_Rating: Uh, T and/or PG-13? There will probably be language and mature themes... As is my way._

_Disclaimer: I am poor. All you will get from suing me is some debts and my bad attitude... No copyright infringement intended. Characters you recognize are either property of Mike Mignola or World Wrestling Entertainment._

_...Yes, I know this one is short, but I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer than I already have._

_NOTE: Hellboy's trippy memory from 1965 is taken from the Hellboy/Goon crossover one shot from Darkhorse Comics. And friggin' hilarious it was. READ IT.  
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><p>Chapter 2<p>

Not knowing what they would encounter, Hellboy chose to drag the raft along behind them in case they found anybody alive and in dire need. So long as he stayed beside Mark and his self-generated light show, the water was as solid as polished granite, and the traction was the same.

But it would have been slow going anyways. Mark was systematically feeling out every soul and personally sending them on their way after a careful and patient explanation of events. He was careful not to send them on until the spirit had accepted their fate and Mark had made notes in his book about who to contact if they so desired. He was extra patient those who had young children, children themselves and especially so with those who had no one.

His power pushed the water of the way in the houses and Hellboy felt as if he was walking through the world's most twisted aquarium. Just beyond the safety of the column of light, chaos floated. The destroyed remains of people's lives. They didn't speak much between houses and Hellboy let Mark do most of the talking to the dead. He had the patience of a kindergarten teacher and the serenity of a chronic pot smoker on a beach in Jamaica. He wasn't flustered in the slightest by the angry ones, and there were plenty of those.

_"The fuck do you mean, white boy?"_

_"No! It can't be true!"_

_"I won't go! I have so much to do!"_

Mark just stood by, the serene angel of death and waited for them to accept. He waited out their panic and sorrow. Then he took their hand and led them away from their corporeal bodies and on to where ever it was they needed to be next.

The house looked like any other of the mostly submerged dwellings when they stopped in front of it. But Mark hesitated. "Something up?" Hellboy asked.

"Yeah... it... feels hollow?" Mark said, trying to get a hold verbally on his mental assessment. "There should be something more in there."

"Maybe they've _moved on_ as you like to say." Hellboy suggested.

"No" Mark said and shook his head. "No, this is bad... Dark magic voodoo maybe? Something's beat me here."

"Something consuming souls." Hellboy inferred.

"Holding them maybe, using their terror to feed itself... The paranormal parasite is sadly common." Mark said.

"Tell me about it." Hellboy agreed.

"We should go in and have a look." Mark said and with a wave of his hand water started to bubble up and out of the house.

They found the corpses of an elderly couple in their bedroom, tightly embraced and completely waterlogged from drowning. They looked like every other victim, save for the mutilation done to their faces. Their eyes were gouged out and that was putting it diplomatically. Only a gaping black hole remained on the upper part of their faces, the wounds unnaturally cauterized. "That is _not_ good." Hellboy stated and Mark nodded.

"I wonder if I could reanimate them and ask them what attacked them." Mark thought aloud.

"From what I've learned from you, even if their bodies had enough memory to respond with their consciousness gone, would it be any more than reports of fear and horror? I can't imagine the information of the memory of their senses being very useful." Hellboy reasoned. "What about an isometric thing? Could you tell from touching the wounds?"

"I could try, but I don't want to become traumatized myself." Mark replied.

"I think we're both pretty traumatized already." Hellboy said.

"Yeah, but not beyond functioning. Just give me a minuted to tune into this hollow feeling... I might be able to use it track whatever it is that's doing this." Mark stared into the mutilated faces, unblinking, trying to feel for any stray impressions. He registered a great dark echoless... ignorant. "Whatever it is, it cares nothing for our world. No feeling, good or bad, it just doesn't care. It just wants to feed and move on." He said.

"Any idea where it might have come from or where it's gotten to?" Hellboy asked. He looked around at the wet ruins of this couple's life and wanted nothing more than to se these poor people free from whatever fear they might presently be experiencing.

"No, but I might have a way to draw it out." Mark replied and gave a final said look to the couple who had nowhere to go to escape this fate.

"I'm gonna get wet, aren't I?" Hellboy asked as they turned to leave.

"I will too if that makes you feel any better." Mark said.

"Not really." Hellboy said.

"Suck it up, Red. We're upscaling the operation."

"Upscaling how?"

"I wanted to take my time, give people closure... But if it saves them from further trauma, then I can do a mass collection and release so to speak." Mark explained.

"Like a fishing net." Hellboy said.

"Exactly. If we eliminate its prey, it'll be easier to flush out." Mark said.

"What do we need to do?"

"We should find some high ground so you can watch out while I'm doing this. I'll need you to watch my back so I'm not disturbed. I warn you, there's a chance this could send me a bit nuts for awhile."

"How nuts? What kind of nuts?" Hellboy asked.

"Nothing scary, more like blissed-out hippy. This is what my body was apparently meant to do. It rewards me with a comfy high." Mark said.

"Great, I get to watch you get stoned. You're not gonna try to define purple or anything like that are you?"

"How many stoned people have you actually been around, Red?" Mark asked.

"Not a lot, but back in '65 I stepped on a comic book in Lebanon, Tennessee, and came to getting whacked in the head with a pipe-wrench wielded by an octopus flying a bi-plane. _Then_ things started to get weird. Zombies, swine revolts resulting in pork chop shortages, and giant spiders. Needless to say, I didn't tell the Bureau about _that_ one." Hellboy offered.

Mark looked a bit stunned, and then started chuckling. His chuckling turned to outright laughter as they set out to case the best spot. "Oh man, thanks... I needed that." Mark said.

"What? No 'what cartoon character was on the tab of acid?' joke?" Hellboy asked.

"Nope, I laugh because there's still a guy out there who's life is weirder than mine." Mark replied.

The moment of levity reenergized them both and their steps were quick as they made their way to a communication tower.

_...To be continued_


	3. Chapter 3

_Notes: Please read Weird Texas and Weird Texas: Vacation for this to make any sense! _

_Okay okay, I already know full well that Hellboy was 'lost at sea' in his own timeline when Katrina hit... This is AU, all your canon are belong to us. I suppose it could fit in the movie timeline, but the Hellboy I write is a little more introspective than movie version. This Hellboy floats somewhere between the two. So remember that every time I do this, it is with the mind relaxed and attentive to that fact._

_Rating: Uh, T and/or PG-13? There will probably be language and mature themes... As is my way._

_Disclaimer: I am poor. All you will get from suing me is some debts and my bad attitude... No copyright infringement intended. Characters you recognize are either property of Mike Mignola or World Wrestling Entertainment._

_NOTE: In the previous chapter, Hellboy's trippy memory from 1965 is taken from the Hellboy/Goon crossover published by Darkhorse Comics. It is friggin' hilarious, and you should READ IT NOW. Also thanks to my dedicated readers for poking/guilting me into getting my ass in gear on this. You are few, but you are treasured, I assure you.  
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><p>Chapter 3<p>

The column of light they walked in didn't diminish at all. And when they reached the closest tower and began to climb it, the whole thing lit up like Christmas. Hellboy's communication devices all crackled to life. The Bureau, Army, and all the usual suspects were trying to get a hold of him. He radioed back every time and told them all to leave him the hell alone for a bit.

"It's a wonder you get anything done at all, Red." Mark said, climbing the ladder as naturally as he had walked on water.

Once they were high enough, Mark got himself steady and stable and took a long slow breath. Hellboy did the same, but kept his left hand grazing the butt of the Samaritan. "This isn't gonna hurt me at all is it?" Hellboy asked.

"It's never hurt me... Well, not directly anyway."

"Very reassuring, Mark." Hellboy said. "Mind if I smoke?"

"Go ahead, but those things will kill ya." Mark said. He was already gazing off into the distance. For effect he licked his finger and checked the wind direction.

"Some days I wish my death will be that mundane." Hellboy replied. "Not that I have a death wish of course. I'll be happy enough to go on like this. I like to think it helps people."

"Probably more than you'll ever know." Mark said. He took one last look around himself. "Okay, here goes." He raised a hand, which became a beacon so bright that Hellboy had to squint his eyes. He was positioned below Mark, but could still see his face, which was as open and compassionate as it had been with every individual soul prior. "Come on, folks. Time to let go. I can get you there." He said it so quietly that it was almost lost to Hellboy's ears.

Looking down he saw the bottom of the column start to widen out and points of soft light started to appear in the distance. The points of light got closer very fast, and Hellboy realized he was looking at ghosts numbering in the hundreds. "That's it, don't be scared. I can show you where to go." Mark reassured. The lights came past them and upward at different speeds. Some were more than ready to get out of there, and others moved slowly enough for Hellboy to make out individual features. Many seemed fully aware of him, and gave he and Mark a nod or wave on their way past them.

Hellboy was on to his second cigarette when one of them stopped to chat with him. "Hey there big fella." Said the transparent form of a wiry man. He was holding an equally transparent brown bottle and had a cut noose around his neck. "Not thinking a jumping there are ya?"

"Nope. I'm just watching out for my buddy up there. He's orchestrating this mass migration." Hellboy said. He tried to affect Mark's casual attitude with the dead.

"Ah, good thing... He's doing a good thing for us. Lot more lost people down there than drowned in the past few days." The ghost said.

"When did you die?" Hellboy asked.

"1931... This is the first I knew that I could go somewhere else."

"I hope it's a good place." Hellboy said, wondering about the noose.

"I hope so too. It would be a shame if it weren't as I was wrongfully convicted."

"Well then, I definitely hope it's a better place." Hellboy said. The ghost gave him a smile and then went in the direction of the others.

A helicopter circled the tower and Hellboy and the pilot used hand signals to work out a radio frequency to share. "Just go about your business. We're fine and there are no other survivors here. We're taking care of the ones who didn't make it... Go! Get outta here!" Hellboy bellowed into the radio. "You've got lives to save!" The pilot gave him a 10-4 and took off reluctantly. Most likely another it was yet another crew who had loved ones they hadn't heard from.

The lights started to thin out and they appeared now to be mostly spirits who'd either lingered in time, or died while attending a costume party if one judged by all the hoop skirts and waist coats. What looked to be an aging prostitute from the late 1700's gave him a wink and then a rude gesture as she went by. Hellboy grinned and took a drag from cigarette number three. He turned his attention to the distance now, looking for what Mark had described.

The last souls were just making it to them when Hellboy heard it. It was the deep rumble of a Brachiosaurus bellowing across a primeval swamp. "Hey Mark" Hellboy called.

"I hear it, Red... Just a few more..." Mark replied.

"Fine, but how capable are you of handling it?" Hellboy asked. He pulled out the Samaritan and wished for backup, knowing full well that anybody coming in as backup would probably just get killed. Mark didn't reply as he was completely focused on getting everyone to safety, beyond the clutches of whatever the hell it was that was bellowing from the depths.

The water around the base of the communications tower churned and peaked to whitecaps, which became steadily larger. Hellboy waited, but he sure as hell was getting antsy by the time the last ghost had passed him by and gone up and on to glory... Or wherever.

Mark then took a gasping breath and the pillar of light receded back towards his body from the ground up. Mark looked completely exhausted and wired at the same time. His pupils looked like Sailor Moon's... Definitely stoned. Damn.

Meanwhile, the bellowing stopped and the tower was starting to shake. "Mark, can you at least tell me where it's coming from?" Hellboy asked. Mark roused himself like a marionette, forcing tension back into his limbs. He rubbed his face in his hands and groaned.

"Okay... okay..." Mark murmured. He looked up and saw that at last everyone had moved on and smiled, and then looked down to Hellboy. "I am stoned off my ass... But I think I can handle it. They were talking to one another as they went. This, whatever it is that's coming, was dredged up from the ocean floor and feeds on souls. It's happened before and a wayward soul had to be careful to avoid it. If we can beat this thing and I can still send it's victims on, I may need your help to not go actually crazy. You gotta keep me in reality, ya know?" Mark asked. Hellboy furrowed his brow.

"You sound like you picked up a lot more in their conversation than you're letting on." He said.

"It's all pure conjecture, Red. No need to worry about what might not be true." Mark said.

"Should we bail from this location?" Hellboy asked.

"I don't think it's going to matter." Mark replied. "If we stay up here, we'll avoid getting wet a little longer." He offered.

"I'll take that." Hellboy said and peered down to the churning black water beneath them. They held tight when the tower started to shake more violently. "Come get us!" Hellboy challenged.

"Okay, I am okay. I am not actually seeing miniscule ponies dancing on my belt buckle." Mark muttered to himself. "And my hair is not actually talking to me."

"Mark!" Hellboy shouted. Mark snapped to attention. "I'll handle the monster if you can concentrate on setting those souls free, okay?" In Hellboy's peripheral vision, he saw a huge black tentacle rise out of the water, searching. Mark nodded at Hellboy blankly, as if he were trying to force himself to sober up.

Hellboy still had his doubts as he removed his side arm from its holster, and judged the distance he was about to willingly plunge. Another tentacle snaked up the struts of the tower. The rumbling started up again, and became distinct to their attuned ears. It was thousands of individual anguished sighs, all crying together for some kind of relief. "Mark, I'll take care of this, if you take care of them. Got it?" Hellboy repeated. Mark nodded hastily, holding his small spell book to his chest. "Please let that have gotten through to you." Hellboy said quietly and then jumped from the tower, gun firing off carefully aimed shots at the tentacle he was looking to land on.

When the first bullet hit, six more tentacles rose up out of the water and the rumbling sighs became horrified screams. The creature's voice and perhaps its very being were composed of the tortured souls it held captive.

Which probably meant that every bullet fired was causing all those souls pain. Hellboy tried not to think about that as he made contact with the creature, grabbed on, and blasted two more rounds into the next closest tentacle. And Hellboy discovered that while the suckers on the tentacles were good at holding things, they were much harder to hold on to.

He was falling through the air very quickly thereafter again, and started an up and down trip as he was flung, hot potato style from appendage to appendage. He fired the Samaritan again, emptying it, and miraculously reloading mid air. He was aiming as best he could to cause maximum damage.

What gave him hope though, was at the points where the creature was wounded, points of light were starting to escape its inky black skin. He was too disoriented to tell where the escaping lights were going specifically, but he hoped that Mark had pulled it together enough to get the job done.

Hellboy was tossed downward and finally caught sight of a beak, then a wave of fetid water, and then an eye. It was his shot, and he'd been careful enough about ammo this time to take it. He steadied his pistol in front of him in one instant, and had squeezed the trigger the next.

In the next moment, Hellboy saw a gaping hole where the creature's eye had been and the screaming was deafening. Then he hit water level and found that the tentacles were not nearly so soft to land on as he might have hoped. He found himself sliding towards a snapping beak. "Crap!" He shouted and raised his right hand. If this thing wanted to eat him, it was going to have to gum him to death. His stone fist met up with the razor sharp beak at just the right moment to pulverize it entirely.

The creature shuddered and the wound collapsed in on itself, making way for thousands of small points of light to escape. The screams became a collective gasp of realization, and they started clamouring for the exit Hellboy had created.

Hellboy wanted no part of that many ghosts and bailed from the creature and started swimming. The communications tower was still standing and he followed the flow of lights toward it, but well off to the side. Swimming had never been a favourite activity for him and he was already wondering what exotic bacteria he might be encountering against his abraded skin. He was exhausted and vaguely nauseated from getting tossed around, so he made for the far side of the tower to rest and watch the light show. The creature deflated and withered as the lights filled the surrounding area.

Looking up, he made out what he had to assume was Mark. He was encased in light again. Hellboy then remembered what Mark had said to him about trying to keep him sane. "Damn" He murmured and then swam towards the ladder to get back up to him.

The souls that floated past him on the way had no corporeal form. They were just points of light that might have wandered aimlessly had Mark not been there to direct them. The night was eerily calm again and Hellboy could hear Mark speaking softly in the language he'd learned from Paul, which Hellboy could still only grasp bits and pieces of despite his gift for language.

Hellboy climbed up and managed to sit beside Mark on an uncomfortable strut. The lights were moving up and away from them like dandelion seeds caught in an updraft. Hellboy knew that each one of them was leaving a piece of itself with Mark and a chunk of power with him as well. Hellboy wasn't the praying sort, and never had been, but this one time, he asked the universe for everything to turn out okay. He was too shell-shocked to do anything else.

Hellboy was able to catch glimpses of Mark. Not enough to assess his mental state, but enough to know he was there and corporeal. And when the last light floated by them, the light surrounding Mark floated off after it. Mark was trembling and pale. His eyes met Hellboy's for a moment before his lids fluttered and his body collapsed and fell from the tower.

"Fuck!" Hellboy shouted as he jumped after him, only to realize too late that Mark had puked as he'd fallen and it had more air resistance. "Son of a bitch." Hellboy grumbled and tried to ignore the smell of bile settling into his coat. He streamlined as much as possible and caught up to Mark's unconscious body. He grabbed on to Mark, held him on top of himself, and got situated for impact with his back to the water, expecting a nasty back flop.

He was right about the back flop. The water stung and he immediately started fighting to get them back to the surface, because unconscious Mark wouldn't know to hold his breath. Hellboy kicked himself and Mark in the direction his instinct told him was up. Luckily his instinct told him right and they broke the surface.

_...To be continued!_


End file.
